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Some internationals have made my cut, despite missing as many as eight Premiership matches.

They are so important to their clubs that they still made outstanding contributions and had a real impact on where their teams finished at the end of the regular season.

Here’s my team of the season…

1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)

A bit of a misfit at Bristol, the lively loosehead has settled in very nicely at Leicester Tigers.

A back-rower in his youth, his carrying was always going to be impressive but his scrummaging has improved massively, so much so that the Tigers barely missed Marcos Ayerza once he suffered a career-ending injury.

5. Courtney Lawes (Saints)

It was a renaissance for the abrasive lock after several injury-hit seasons.

Having stepped in when Itoje and Kruis were absent, Lawes was one of England's best players and 13 of his 14 Premiership performances were 80 minutes long, which shows how important he is to Saints and how he appears to have got his body right.